Cardinal Men Qualify 12 Swimmers, a Diver and Two Relay Specialists to NCAAs
March 10, 2021 | Swimming & Diving
Cards head to Greensboro for the NCAA Championships
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Following its first-ever ACC Championship, the University of Louisville men's swimming and diving team qualified 12 individual swimmers, two relay swimmers and a diver the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Swimming and Diving Championships.
Â
The championships will be held March 24-27 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro. The Cardinals tied the school record for participants set by the COVID-cancelled 2020 Championship with 12 and only four other schools in the nation had more qualifiers.
A total of 270 participants (235 swimmers and 35 divers) will compete in the championships. Swimmers qualified for the championships by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered. Divers will be determined by performances achieved at the Zone Diving meets held March 7-13. The complete lists of all swimmers (athletes by institution, official psych sheet, relays and alternates) competing in the championships is available at usaswimming.org/ncaa. Selected divers will be announced Monday, March 15.
 Looking to build on their program-best fifth place finish at 2019's NCAA Championships, the Cardinals' 12 individual qualifiers are entered in a combined 11 races. In addition to the individual swims, Louisville has also qualified in all five relays.
Â
In addition, the Cardinals are ranked in the top 15 in eight events. Senior Nick Albiero leads the way with a No. 2 seed in the both the 100 and 200 butterfly and a No. 3 seed in the 100 back. Evgenii Somov is ranked third in the 100 breast and fourth in the 200 breaststroke. Haridi Sameh is 11th in the 50 free and Mitchell Whyte is ninth in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 200 back. In addition, the Cardinals have three others ranked in the Top 25 with Nikos Sofianidis  being 21st in the 100 back, Illia Sibirtsev being 18th in the 1650 freestyle, and Hayden Curley being No. 22 in the 1650 as well.
Â
The Cardinal relays are in good shape nationally, too. Four of the five are ranked in the top five and the other is in the top 15. The 200 medley relay team will be seeded second, while the 400 free relay will be seeded third. The 200 free relay team is ranked No. 4 in the nation and the 400 medley relay is ranked fifth. UofL's 800 free relay is ranked 13th as of this Monday.
How to Watch
ESPN3 will provide digital broadcast coverage for preliminary and finals sessions Wednesday through Saturday. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour show at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, April 13.
Â
Full Listing
Albiero, Nicolas, Senior:: 100 FL (44.67); 100 BK Â (44.85); 200 FL (1:39.08)
Cummings, Tanner, Junior: 50 FR (19.45)
Curley, Hayden, Â Junior: 1650 FR (14:53.17)
 Deliyiannis, Mihalis, Senior: 50 FR (19.44)
 Lowe, Dalton, Freshman: 100 FL (45.76)
Paulson, Colton, Junior: 200 FR (1:33.94)
Sameh, Abdelrahman, Sophomore: 50 FR (19.14); 100 FL (45.82); 100 FR (42.03)
Sibirtsev, Ilia, Sophomore: 1650 FR (14:51.33)
Smith, Theodore (T.C.), Senior: 1650 FR (15:01.33)
 Sofianidis, Nikolaos, Senior: 100 BK (46.22)
 Somov, Evgenii, Senior: 200 IM (1:44.05); 100 BR (51.03); 200 BR (1:51.26)
Whyte, Mitchell, Junior: 100 FL (45.97); 100 BK (45.13) 200 BK Â Â Â 1:39.98
Kivanc Gur, DivingÂ
Michael Eastman (Relay)
Kyle Worrell (Relay)
Â
Â
The championships will be held March 24-27 at the Greensboro Aquatic Center in Greensboro. The Cardinals tied the school record for participants set by the COVID-cancelled 2020 Championship with 12 and only four other schools in the nation had more qualifiers.
A total of 270 participants (235 swimmers and 35 divers) will compete in the championships. Swimmers qualified for the championships by meeting the established minimum time for the events in which they entered. Divers will be determined by performances achieved at the Zone Diving meets held March 7-13. The complete lists of all swimmers (athletes by institution, official psych sheet, relays and alternates) competing in the championships is available at usaswimming.org/ncaa. Selected divers will be announced Monday, March 15.
 Looking to build on their program-best fifth place finish at 2019's NCAA Championships, the Cardinals' 12 individual qualifiers are entered in a combined 11 races. In addition to the individual swims, Louisville has also qualified in all five relays.
Â
In addition, the Cardinals are ranked in the top 15 in eight events. Senior Nick Albiero leads the way with a No. 2 seed in the both the 100 and 200 butterfly and a No. 3 seed in the 100 back. Evgenii Somov is ranked third in the 100 breast and fourth in the 200 breaststroke. Haridi Sameh is 11th in the 50 free and Mitchell Whyte is ninth in the 100 backstroke and fifth in the 200 back. In addition, the Cardinals have three others ranked in the Top 25 with Nikos Sofianidis  being 21st in the 100 back, Illia Sibirtsev being 18th in the 1650 freestyle, and Hayden Curley being No. 22 in the 1650 as well.
Â
The Cardinal relays are in good shape nationally, too. Four of the five are ranked in the top five and the other is in the top 15. The 200 medley relay team will be seeded second, while the 400 free relay will be seeded third. The 200 free relay team is ranked No. 4 in the nation and the 400 medley relay is ranked fifth. UofL's 800 free relay is ranked 13th as of this Monday.
How to Watch
ESPN3 will provide digital broadcast coverage for preliminary and finals sessions Wednesday through Saturday. Additionally, ESPNU will air a two-hour show at 7 p.m. Eastern time, Tuesday, April 13.
Â
Full Listing
Albiero, Nicolas, Senior:: 100 FL (44.67); 100 BK Â (44.85); 200 FL (1:39.08)
Cummings, Tanner, Junior: 50 FR (19.45)
Curley, Hayden, Â Junior: 1650 FR (14:53.17)
 Deliyiannis, Mihalis, Senior: 50 FR (19.44)
 Lowe, Dalton, Freshman: 100 FL (45.76)
Paulson, Colton, Junior: 200 FR (1:33.94)
Sameh, Abdelrahman, Sophomore: 50 FR (19.14); 100 FL (45.82); 100 FR (42.03)
Sibirtsev, Ilia, Sophomore: 1650 FR (14:51.33)
Smith, Theodore (T.C.), Senior: 1650 FR (15:01.33)
 Sofianidis, Nikolaos, Senior: 100 BK (46.22)
 Somov, Evgenii, Senior: 200 IM (1:44.05); 100 BR (51.03); 200 BR (1:51.26)
Whyte, Mitchell, Junior: 100 FL (45.97); 100 BK (45.13) 200 BK Â Â Â 1:39.98
Kivanc Gur, DivingÂ
Michael Eastman (Relay)
Kyle Worrell (Relay)
Â
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Swimming & Diving
Sprint Free
/ Swimming & Diving
Diver
/ Swimming & Diving
Breaststroke
/ Swimming & Diving
Back/Fly
/ Swimming & Diving
Free/Fly
/ Swimming & DivingArthur Albiero Swim & Dive Press Conference 02.12.25
Friday, May 16
NCAA Diving Zones - Zone C Day 3
Saturday, March 16
NCAA Diving Zones - Zone C Day 2
Friday, March 15
NCAA Diving Zones - Zone C Day 1
Thursday, March 14
